site.btaBulgarian Winter Resorts Ready for Season, Plagued by Old Problems, According to Discussion in Parliament

The main ski resorts of Bulgaria are ready for the winter tourist season. The problems of some resorts are the same as they were last year, and while others have been plagued by the same issues for 30 years, which are mostly related to the development of ski infrastructure. This prevents Bulgaria to become a competitive winter tourism destination among Western European tourists. This calls for many laws to be changed, some of which have been prepared and others are yet to be drafted, it transpired from a discussion at the Parliamentary Tourism Committee titled "Preparing for the 2023-2024 Winter Tourism Season - Prospects and Challenges". The discussion was attended by representatives of the legislative, executive and local authorities, and business organizations.

Yan Kalchev, CEO of Vitosha Ski JSC, said that the situation on Vitosha for the last twenty years has been awaiting for a number of laws and concepts to be changed, as there is a lack of vision for the mountain's future development.

The winter resort of Bansko is ready for the winter season with prepared facilities, which have undergone preventive maintenance, and snow cannons are also ready, said Maya Hristoskova, executive director of Yulen AD. "We expect a lot of tourists because of the World Cup rounds in February," she added. Hristoskova raised the issue of a second lift because of the huge waiting time for the current one. Waiting for three or four hours, in low temperatures, is unacceptable for tourists, she added. 

No new lifts have been built for some twenty years, which means that there is something fundamentally wrong, said the newly elected Mayor of Bansko, Stoycho Banenski. He said Bansko residents are against building more hotels, but want infrastructure, which calls for legislative changes. Once they take place, the first lift can be built in three years, Banenski added.

Marian Belyakov, CEO of Pamporovo AD, said that this year there is an indication of a slightly earlier start of the season and it will most likely begin as early as Saturday or Sunday with the production of artificial snow. Belyakov highlighted the need for the construction of new lift facilities, pointing out the need for the construction process of these facilities to be eased.  

Mariela Modeva, adviser to the Tourism Minister, said that there has been an outflow of tourists from Israel for the winter season because of the war, but added that "bookings from neighbouring countries are going well, airports are giving information about flights from Germany and Italy, and we are working with the Scandinavian countries to bring back tourists from those countries as well."